love rips

"Sit down, patience Timothy please."

A panache plop, echoes from his toe tapping foot.

"Please cease, do you wish to kill the old fool"

"Isn't that the point of all your training? Someone comes in they die before sunrise; it's in keeping with the folklore of this old place, and I want my first fright sight kill!" He went to stomp his foot only to find himself floating and silent.

"All I ask for is patience." She held his chin tenderly "Other houses are known for such, don't you want more? Think how our lore grows if you allow him to get to the gate and then rip his heart out. With a manically laugh all will know you were but playing the fool and the house will feed on all those who will surely follow. Don't you agree?" She awaited for his response, "Oh." She looked at the two globules in her hand. One she forced into the eye socket of the miniature leprechaun head of her cane's handle. "For now I will keep your ability to scare, this one is your voice." She placed it in his hand and asked again "Don't you agree?"

"Yes" his grin near touched his his eyes "yes my love." He waited patiently for the old man to exit.

The reporters cheered in surprise for the first person to survive. "How do you feel?"

"Old and cheated I was promised if I spent the night I would be twenty-nine once more." he walked toward the gate answering no more questions.

As the dejected man unlatched the gate Timothy's arm went into his back and came out empty. "What?" attempt after attempt and nothing. "I followed all my training what am I missing?" He returned to the attic. "My love it went terribly wrong I failed. But why?"

She held the cane so the new days sun glinted in his eyes "Without the power to scare what could you do? You couldn't rip out his heart that would be far to scary wouldn't it?" She laughed

"Tim" an older ghost holding a ledger called "You failed not acceptable. Your punishment a f will be marked and you will be stripped of ghost-hood and made a human-form."

"Human again that's the punishment?"

"Patience never his strong suit." She chuckled

"No just needed you in this form for; as the ledger closed Timothy was ripped apart. "Want anything for a momento?"

She nicely declined, "no the leprechaun's head is enough for now." She looked out the wind and the old man was 29 again. He want to boast . Not seeing the truck he met them sooner than anticipated, becoming a speed bump for one of their trucks. "Worked out better than I planned. May I have him?"

The ledger holder nonchalantly reached into the air and snatched him. "Here is your new apprentice."

The old man new ghost stammered "But I just left here."

"And now you're back." He placed the ledger under his cloak "She will teach you how to haunt."

"But I'm not scary enough."

She plucked the globule out of the socket. "Here take this." She walked out of the shadows.

"You? You're the one who promised to return me to youth and love me. All i needed to do was help you with a 'slight problem'."

"And you completed your task admirably."

Your sinister laugh you used me, I could never love you never!"

"All the better I hate when apprentices fall in love with me."